Some good economic news this Thanksgiving: the preliminary unemployment rate in metro Gainesville decreased to 8.4 percent in October, down two-tenths of a percentage point from 8.6 percent in September, the Georgia Department of Labor announced today.

The jobless rate in metro Gainesville, which includes all of Hall County, was 9.1 percent in October 2010.

The rate declined because the number of jobs increased by 200. Most of the growth was in retail trade and local government.

Georgia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to 10.2 percent in October, down one-tenth of a percentage point from 10.3 percent in September, as well as from October a year ago.

The rate dropped because Georgia added 26,500 jobs, up seven-tenths of a percentage point to 3,818,800 from 3,792,300 in September. While growth came in several sectors, 12,200 of the jobs occurred from early hiring in retail, transportation and warehousing, as employers prepared for the holiday season.

October is the 51st consecutive month Georgia has exceeded the national unemployment rate, which is currently 9.0 percent.

The unemployment rate in the Georgia Mountains area dropped to 8.7 percent in October, down from 8.9 percent in September.

Metro Athens had the lowest area rate at 7.5 percent, while metro Dalton had the highest at 12.7 percent.